Vietnam welcomed nearly 5.6 million international arrivals in the first half of this year, more than half of this year's target of 8 million but just equal to 65.7 percent of pre-pandemic levels, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO) on Thursday.

During the period, foreign arrivals to Vietnam by air accounted for 87.6 percent of the total, followed by road with 11.4 percent and sea routes with 1 percent.

Most of the arrivals in the first six months were from Asia, with around 75.2 percent, followed by tourists from Europe and the United States, data showed.

The largest markets for Vietnam's tourism during the January-June period include South Korea, China and the United States.

Over 557,100 Chinese tourists arrived in Vietnam over the period, said the GSO, adding that South Korea remained the top source of tourist arrivals with over 1.6 million visitors, while the United States ranked third with nearly 373,800 arrivals.

Chinese tourists accounted for one-third of international arrivals to Vietnam in 2019, the year before the onset of the pandemic.

Vietnam's top legislature has recently approved a looser electronic visa policy by tripling the length of time that foreign travelers are allowed to stay in the country to 90 days, according to a report by Vietnam News Agency.